This invention relates to an inhalation therapy device, and, in particular to a monitoring device for monitoring and controlling the flow of therapeutic gas.
Generally, a patient with pulmonary disease, breathing disorder or oxygen deficiency is required to breath oxygen provided from a source of oxygen to increase the level, or amount, of oxygen they breath in. The patient is given a prescription that indicates the concentration of oxygen, the flow or volume requirement of oxygen and the use of the oxygen, for example, the hours per day of oxygen delivery. In some cases, the prescription will include the precise hours of the day the patient is to receive the oxygen therapy. For example, the patient's prescription may call for two liters of oxygen per minute for two hours during the day and eight hours at night. Or, in some cases, the prescription may call for four liters of oxygen per minute for twenty-four hours a day. Usually the prescription is based upon oxygen requirements established in a controlled setting, such as during hospitalization. The prescription is continued at home after discharge from the hospital. Delivery of oxygen therapy at home should correspond to the prescription developed in the hospital. Failure to comply with the prescription could be harmful to the patient or less beneficial than planned. Oxygen concentrators have been developed and commercialized to provide the delivery of near pure oxygen to the individual patient to satisfy medical needs. These concentrators can be small and portable. However, once the patient leaves the controlled setting of the hospital, it is difficult to monitor the patient's use of the oxygen to ensure that the is complying with the prescription.